country that has rejected versions of policies it holds responsible. it likes its president. it roots for success and believes strongly that american will win again because of its deep resilience. we can change. we are changing. when we see failure, we find it hard to change. i learn that people are only truly paying attention to what they discover for themselves. we learned what must be done because we saw what was being done to our children and grandchildren if we didn't. we gave up cigarettes which gave us pleasure because we discovered the damage that they can do. we should be able to give up semi-automatic rifles. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us.

you can cut tax rates by 20% and still preserve these important preferences for middle class taxpayers. >> it is not possible -- >> it is mathematically possible. >> it has been done a couple of times. >> jack kennedy -- >> oh, now you're jack kennedy. >> i sat down with the vice president, joe biden, and we sat down and talked about americans

and principles. >> it is great to be here, i'm a fan. >> thank you, my head explodes when i hear you can't raise taxes on the job creators. what goes through your mind? >> what goes through my mind is where in the heck have these guys been? that was the same argument listening on the senate floor, that george bush made, put that god-awful tax break for the super wealthy, without paying for it. they were going to create jobs. what happened? a slower job growth rate in 50 years once that passed. >> do you think this is an instant replay? >> i don't know, they talk about out of touch. haven't they seen this movie? i mean, what makes anybody think? look, all this done is the god-awful tax cuts that romney wants to put in there, $250,000 a year tax cut for the average person making over a million

bucks on top of the bush tax cuts? $800 billion -- >> can't do it, doesn't work. >> by the way, it doesn't work, if we want to give incentive to businesses, we should give tax breaks to the innovative ones, investing in manufacturing capabilities, alternative energy. >> so the romney camp is saying that 92% of the jobs that were lost during the recession were with women, what is your response to that? >> you know what that reminds me of. i used to practice law when i was a kid. it is that old joke about the kid who kills both parents and then pleads for mercy because he is an orphan? what caused all of these jobs to be lost, before then? men and women. before we came into office, 3.5 million jobs were lost. before i lowered my right hand on that magnificent day on

january 20th, with a million people watching, 750,000 lost. another four million before the first job bill we could get passed. >> he is trying to make the case that women have been inordinarily hit during this recession, is that true explosive. >> well, women and men have been hit. look at the number of people that were kicked out of the middle class, dropped out because they can't stay there anymore. these guys talking about women, these guys talking about women. these guys have a social policy on contraception that takes you back to the '50s. when asked the question do you think the legislation passed mandating that your son and daughter doing the same work will have to get the exact same pay, the lilly ledbetter law? they couldn't answer. >> so the war on women is real? >> oh, i think the war on women

is real. and will get more intense. the next president of the united states is going to get to name one and possibly two or more members of the supreme court. >> are women going to be with you in this legislation -- i mean, the polls show right now there is a gender gap and it favors the democrats? >> i, you know -- i'm a little probably -- unusual in this regard. i never predict what people are going to do. all i'm saying is i think the case that we can make, barack obama's policies are passed, our expectations, our dreams for women, contrasted with the republican agenda as it has been and continues to be relative to women, i don't think it is a close call. >> okay. >> and i think women will make that judgment. >> let's get back to the economy for just a moment. a white house campaign staff member told me yesterday that 67% of the american people want

the wealthy to pay more. do you believe that number? and do you think the people are with you on that? >> absolutely, look, i come from a wealthy state of little delaware, and got elected seven times in the state being a progressive. and i never once engaged in the so-called class war fare. because i found out, and you know as i do, wealthy people are just as patriotic as lower class and middle class people. >> you said they're ready to do more. >> i remember looking at a poll, we were trying to get the jobs bill passed. and we said in order to put 400,000 teachers and teachers aides, and firefighters and cops all you had to do was raise 5/10th of 1%, i remember the majority of the millionaires supported that. so i just think these guys, i just -- i think the american

public is ready to step up and do their fair share, including millionaires. >> citizens united. there is a very good chance that the obama campaign won't match the money that is going to be raised by the super pacs. >> there is a good chance -- >> well, and the template may be played out in wisconsin, about boots on the ground, social -- how important is that recall, for the confidence that people want to have in their government and want to have a voice? >> in a sense, i think it has already been accomplished, and given confidence. you have an overwhelming majority of the people in wisconsin saying we should have a recall vote. it almost at this point doesn't matter who wins the vote. it matters. but the point has been made. it was not just democrats or union members who voted for that. in order to get to the numbers they had if my recollection is correct as many people voted in that as voted for governor. the previous election.

saying there should be a recall election. and that is people standing up. >> is this the template? >> it is, i just got finished talking to the volunteers here in new hampshire. and i said there is only one real antidote to what is expected for the hundreds of millions of dollars spent, the carpetbombing, the president is the guy he will go after because he is the leader, the boss. i said there is only one antidote, it is your next door neighbor knocking on your door saying i know these guys. let me tell you, ed, they're good men. that is not true. that is why we need more people. barack obama, his last campaign had the best organized campaign in the history modern presidential politics. put more troops on the ground. the best anti-negative advertising is people on the

ground. and i believe we'll have the best ground game on the ground. >> do you like "the ed show". >> i tell you what, i watch it, i like it. we came from the same backgrounds, you ended up being an all-american, i ended up being an all-nothing when i tried to play. >> i don't think so. mr. vice president, thank you, appreciate it. coming up, one woman became the target of one of the biggest voices in the republican party. the fallout sent out a central debate about women's rights in america. we'll show you how it all happened. stay tuned.

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coming up, it was the tape that everybody was talking about. we'll look at how mitt romney's 47% changed the race. and we'll look at long lines, americans faced many obstacles to cast their votes,

ohio senator nina turner talks with me about the fight for the right to vote. and a salute to the middle class heros.

welcome back to "the ed show." equal pay for equal work, birth control, those were the issues that republicans decided to tackle in 2012. it was the year in which republicans at the state level tried to force women considering an abortion to have an invasive and unnecessary ultrasound. some required women to view the ultrasound. republican tim corbitt didn't

understand what it was all about. >> i don't know how you can make anybody watch. okay, because you just have to close your eyes. >> it was a year in which there was campaigning on defunding planned parenthood. wouldn't take a position on the lilly ledbetter fair pay act, and bragged about his hiring as governor of massachusetts. >> and we took a concerted effort to go out and find women who could become a member of the cabinet, i went to a group of women, they brought us binders full of women. >> it was the year in which republicans pushed for extremist candidates like todd akin and murdoch. >> the female body has ways to shut that down. >> i came to realize life is a gift from god, and i think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape that

it is something that god intended to happen. >> it was a year in which we had to hear rhetoric like this. >> this contraception thing, it is so inexpensive, in my day, they used bayer aspirin, it was not that costly, the gals put it between their knees. >> when the republicans heard on the affordable care act, no women testified. democrats were allowed to invite one witness. they chose majority law student sandra fluk, darrell issa judged her to be not qualified to speak on the matter. she later gave her testimony in front of the panel, and became a target of the biggest voice of the republican party, rush limbaugh. but before rush limbaugh could launch his campaign, she gave

her first interview here on "the ed show". >> great to have you here, i understand you had planned to have your testimony, you were going to cite some examples of people who could have benefitted from president obama's mandate of birth control coverage. share with us what you would have told that committee today. >> that is what i was there to speak to the committee about. and that is why i was so stunned when chairman issa made the decision to not allow me to speak on behalf of those women, and to say that i was not an appropriate witness. that those women's stories were not appropriate for this committee. i cannot think of who would be more appropriate for the committee to hear from, than the women who are affected by this policy whose lives were affected. one of the women i wanted to talk about today is a close friend of mine. she has ovarian syndrome, and what that means is she needs to take contraception for medical reasons to stop cysts from

growing on her ovaries, and not to pre evev prevent pregnancy. unfortunately, when university administrators and employers and insurance companies get involved in deciding whose health needs are legitimate and whose aren't, what happens is that women's health needs take a back seat to that type of ideology. that happened in her case, and we found it happened in 65% of the student's cases. so for her, she was unable, they repeatedly refused her contraception coverage claims. she had verification from her doctor, it didn't matter. she had to pay out of pocket for her, month after month after month, and eventually she just couldn't afford it, like many students just cannot afford that kind of a cost. and she had to stop taking it. i have to tell you, it is so --

what happened is that after a few months of her not taking the prescription, a massive gicyst grew on her ovary. and she woke up one night in the middle of the night in terrible pain. she told me that it felt like she had been shot. and i don't want to imagine what that felt like for her. but what ultimately happened is that she had that ovary removed. she had to have it surgically removed. and as a result of that, of course she would have problems conceiving a problem. but even more, it just -- it has not stopped for her. she -- she, since the surgery, has experienced the symptoms of early menopause. and her doctors are very concerned that at the age of 32 she is entering early menopause, which means that there is nothing doctors can do to help her conceive a child. she will be at further risk for

cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis. and that is where she was this morning when i was attempting to tell her story in front of members of congress. she was at the doctor's, trying to cope with the symptoms she was experiencing. >> are people on campus, is this really hitting the attention of women you interact with professionally in the school setting? >> oh, my goodness, unless you study at one of these schools i cannot even explain to you what it is like on campus. we have been following the regulations ever since the affordable care act was passed. it is a fight we have been fighting for years, literally for decades they have been struggling. this has made so much difference for us. >> sandra fluk, i appreciate you being here tonight. i know they watch on capitol

hi hill. and i think you will be in a position to talk with others who make decisions that affect the lives of women, i really appreciate you being here tonight. >> thank you for having me. >> you bet. >> mitt romney's caught on tape comments, reveal his true feelings about the poor in the country. and how the 47% change the way the race went. and how to keep jobs as republicans try to dismantle labor unions. and much more, stay tuned.

welcome back to "the ed show." one video defined the campaign more than anything else. mitt romney and the 47%. >> don't worry, we'll take care of it. how are we going to do it? to convince everybody they have to -- >> well, there are 47% of the people who will vote for the people, no matter what. all right? there are 47% of people who are with him, depend on government, who believe they are victims. who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them. who believe they're entitled to health care, to food, to housing. to you name it. it is an entitlement, and government should give it to them. and they will vote for this president no matter what. and the president starts off with 48, 49 -- he starts off with a huge number. these are people who pay no income tax, 47% of the americans

pay no income tax, so our message of low taxes doesn't connect, he will be out there talking about taxes for the rich. and so my job is not to worry about those people. they will never take personal responsibility, what i have to do is convince the 5 or 10% that are independents, that are thoughtful, look at emotions. >> does mitt romney really think that people in this country want to be on medicare, that they want to be poor, or be disabled? that they want to have assistance? is that really the path that he thinks americans want to take? and most americans, i believe tonight, especially the liberals will be absolutely offended by the comment "my job is not to worry about them. i'll never be convinced that they will take personal responsibility and care for their lives." personal responsibility, those

of you who are in nursing homes, who are in wheelchairs, those of you who depend on assistance by the government because we are a government of compassion. we have always been a country of compassion. but all of a sudden the republicans are putting up a candidate who wants to wipe away that, because we want to privatize everything. the obama campaign has also responded. it is shock can that a candidate for president of the united states would go behind closed doors and declare to a group of rich donors that half of the american people view themselves as victims, entitled to handouts and are unwilling to take personal responsibilities for their lives. it is hard to serve as president for all americans when you disdainfully have written off half of the nation. and that is exactly what mitt romney has done with this statement here of behind closed doors. for months on this program, i have asked will mitt romney please stand up? in this video, behind closed doors, we did see the real mitt

romney, he did stand up. he doesn't give a damn about the people, we are a society, it cuts to the fabric, we are a country of compassion that we want to help people who are downtrodden, people who have been dealt a tough deck of cards. whether it be the economy or health care, or through no fault of their own. circumstances put on families that are totally out of their control. mitt romney views them as road kill. and he is not even going to communicate to them or offer up a better plan to make their lives better. he just says they should be personally responsible for who they are, and where they are in america. but romney made the matters only worse for himself. >> it is not elegantly stated, let me put it that way. i'm speaking off the cuff in response to a question, i'm sure, i could state it more

clearly and effectively than i did in, in -- in a setting like that, we don't even have the question, given the snippet or the full response, i hope the person who has the video will put out the full material. >> wait a minute, don't have the question, just the snippet, we played the full question and answer on the program last night. and we were not alone in doing so. president obama's supporters were surprised when the president didn't mention romney's 47% remarks in the first debate. but president obama made up for the later in the second debate, on the final question when romney could not respond, president obama got the final say on the 47%. >> when he said behind closed doors that 47% of the country consider themselves victims? who refuse personal responsibility? think about who he was talking about. folks on social security who have worked all their lives.

veterans, who sacrificed for this country. students, who are out there trying to hopefully advance their own dreams but also this country's dreams. soldiers who are overseas fighting for us right now. people who are working hard every day, paying payroll tax, gas taxes, but don't make enough income. and i want to fight for them. that is what i have been doing for the last four years, because if they succeed i believe the country succeeds. >> there is a lot more coming up in the next half hour of "the ed show." stay tuned. >> i just have to say what we should not be doing is take away your rights to bargain for better working rights. >> in 2012, president obama came up big for workers, but not before the workers came up big for him. john nicoles of the nation magazine on the year in labor, next. >> voter idea is going to allow governor romney to win the state

of pennsylvania, done. >> and in 2012, republicans thought they could suppress their way to the white house. but the voters would not be denied. >> we will not be turned around. >> ohio state senator nina turner joins me ahead. ♪ [ male announcer ] you can't let a cold keep you up tonight. vicks nyquil -- powerful nighttime 6-symptom cold & flu relief. ♪

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or super cheap car insurance. and then there are good decisions. like esurance. their coverage counselor helps you choose the right coverage for you at a great price. [ stomach growls ] esurance. now backed by allstate. click or call. good to have you back with us, thank you for joining us on this special year-end edition of "the ed show." we covered worker's issues all year long, but we wondered how the middle class voters would do coming out to vote. the victory was never a sure thing for president obama. the story i think starts with workers in wisconsin in 2011. let's roll it back, republican governor scott walker threatened to destroy collective bargaining in the state. workers exchanged massive protests and launched the first recall in the state's history. we cover the recall from

madiso madison. >> we have already seen a ground operation unlike anything in the wisconsin history. >> what we see here in wisconsin is something that is proving to be far more powerful than money. and that is the power of the people. >> of course, governor scott walker survived the recall, republican operatives were delighted. they claimed this was the end of organized labor. >> it is a blow for organized labor, particularly organized labors represented in public employee unions. make bolder similar unions in other states by other governors. clearly it will put wisconsin, in my opinion, into play. >> karl rove, later taken off fox news, were all so wrong. the voters help to reelect president obama. tammy baldwin defeated tommy thompson by five points. turns out labor is alive and

well. in fact, workers across america help us understand what mitt romney could mean for the economy. >> this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> we followed the worker's stories to freeport, illinois in october. bain capital has shut down the plant, and they were going to ship some 200 jobs to china. >> what would you say to mitt romney? >> the three of us here have been arrested defending american jobs, we're waiting, come out here and talk to us. >> you want to talk to him? what would you say to him? >> save our jobs. >> over the summer, more and more workers started to come forward with horror stories about bain capital and the bain economy. workers there made national headlines. >> when you take all the good jobs we had here at gs steel in kansas city, the middle class will be extinction.

>> it claimed jeep was moving to china because of the automobile loan, and it was totally false. it totally backfired on the camp. auto workers and their families turned out in full force on election day. and of course, president obama won ohio. middle class americans across this country stood in long lines to cast a vote for the candidate who would help them the most. they ignored the republican threats about a failing economy. the republicans wanted to kill organized labor. in 2012, they may have given it new life instead. here is someone who has been with us all year long covering worker's issues. joining me tonight, john nicoles, of the "washington correspondent" magazine. john, has labor been emboldened by the victory, and has there been a new stage set for what

they can accomplish? >> i think so. i think labor changed over the last year and a half. and especially over the last year. one of the things is that it is safe to say that a lot of unions, not all of them, but a lot were on auto pilot. they had a sense of how politics worked. and a sense of how government worked and they fit into that. what happened in wisconsin and ohio in 2011 forced unions to start to re-think, to start to recognize that there really were powerful forces out to get them. that made an awful lot of unions recognize that they had to fight for their livelihood, i think it made them leaner and meaner effective players. once you start to win tough battles, as had happened in ohio and other states, then you start to think about what you may be able to accomplish. not in a defensive position, but

in an affirmative position. >> of course, they have beenvilbeen villified, others like karl rove are forceful on how they want to go after unions, to tear down the last great bastion of frurks for the democratic party, which is labor unions. but do you think it has woken up another level of americans that are not involved in organized labor? >> i think there is simply no question that is exactly what has happened. because people who were never members of unions were out there in those demonstrations in michigan, in ohio, wisconsin, and places like new york city. and los angeles as part of the occupy movement. and more recently, as part of the protests against walmart. as part of the fast-food workers walkouts and strikes that have occurred. the fact of the matter is we

have a new era for labor. and it is not fully defined. a lot of unions are starting to figure out how to work with people who are not members. a lot of people who are members of unions are trying to figure out how they would fit into a labor movement. a lot is going to change. but labor is no longer on auto pilot, it is affirmatively moving in a new area, changing politics and or work place. >> and if you look attacks poli -- at the tax policies the republicans, they want to favor the rich. teachers, firefighters, this buri basically set up the right wing back in 2011. >> you're so right, ed, in fact i reported with you on election night. i was in the teamster's hall in toledo, ohio, and off camera i

would talk to the teamsters who were there, folks not just from that unions but from other unions. they said you know, we started working on this 2012 election, back in 2011. we recognized we were under assault. we couldn't just stop when we won a referendum or a single vote, we knew it was a long fight. >> all right, john nicoles, great to have you with us. thanks so much. coming up, we discussed a lot of serious topics, but here at "the ed show," we still had time for laughs.

this is flo. i need you. i feel so alone. but you're not alone. i knew you'd come. like i could stay away. you know i can't do this without you. you'll never have to. you're always there for me. shh! i'll get you a rental car.

i could also use an umbrella. fall in love with progressive's claims service. up next, coach ed, that would be me, gives the president a pep talk. and later, the republicans trying to block the vote and hand mitt romney a win on election night. state senator nina turner jo joins me on the continued fight against voter suppression. stay tuned. villain, vil

. welcome back to "the ed show." the 2012 presidential campaign was intense, start to finish. but we here at the ed show took time to make fun of the candidates. during the new hampshire primary, tim pawlenty told me he couldn't stay awake long enough

to watch "the ed show." the next night, we decided to give 2% timmy a sleep aid. >> good night to unions, good night to health care, good night to jobs, good night clean air. good night public education, good night immigration, good night wall street regulation, good night middle class, good night auto czar, good night, dog on the car. good night, roe v. wade. good night, marriage equality. good night to the elderly whispering, don't privatize social security. good night medicare, good night medicaid, good night american dreams everywhere. sweet dreams, t-pa, sleep just

as good as your presidential campaign. >> oh, they're easy to pick on, good targets, don't you think? but just to be fair and balanced we had some fun with the president's first debate. the president was really off his game during december. so the very next night i had to give liberals some hope during a post-game news conference. >> all right. not a good night. we didn't play very well. unusual for us. we're a hell of a team. we have a long way to go. i know you're not happy. i heard the fans, i heard it. and you're hearing it from me, we're better than that. >> the report card -- >> report card is fine, that is why we recruited him in 2007, he is a hell of a player, we have won championships, we'll win begin. >> will there be a lineup change? >> no, there is not going to be a lineup, look, did he turn the

ball over, yes, did he throw the ball out of bounds? yes, did he miss a few lineups? he is still my guy, i'm not changing the lineup, i told you when you covered the team earlier this year, this is going to be a long road. i don't know about the altitude, everybody started, we didn't play very well. it is another game, we have to get over it. >> coach, what about the other team. >> if you guys want to go out and crown them the champion you go right ahead and do it. but i think you would be making a huge mistake if you did that. you know what we got to do? we got to get to work. >> well, we're not sure if president obama saw the press conference, but he sure did destroy romney in the next final two debates. coming up, long lines couldn't keep voters from casting their ballots, despite attempts to keep them from the polls. next, nina turner, on the fight

against voter suppression.

welcome back to "the ed show." leading up to the 2012 election, we saw efforts by the republicans to suppress the democratic vote. 18 states have passed some type of voter suppression law. some of the toughest laws came out of the swing states, like ohio, pennsylvania, wisconsin and florida. in ohio, early voting hours were cut and new restrictions were put on absentee ballots. down in florida, republicans put

restrictions on voter registration, cut early voting hours, banned felons from voting for five years. and attempted to purge 180,000 voters from the state's voting rolls. luckily after public outrage, the voter purge failed. meanwhile, states like wisconsin put in strict photo id laws. pennsylvania's law was later struck down, but misleading signs and billboards like this one were put up to try and trick voters. these suppression efforts directly targeted minorities and low income voters, no doubt this was meant to help them vote for mitt romney. >> he is going to win the state of pennsylvania, done. >> ohio county gop chair doug price put it this way, he said "we shouldn't contort the voting process to accommodate urban red

afternoon-american turning out machines. not accommodating voters led to record-long lines on election day. in the state of florida there were reports of people waiting in line as long as seven hours to vote. these voter suppression tactics must stop, and president obama said he wants action on it. >> whether you voted for the first time or waited in line for a very long time, by the way, we have to fix that. >> yes. >> in the wake of all of this, california senator barbara boxer introduced the line act, which would require the election commission to set new standards by january 14. this commission would decide the voters, workers and other resources, the act would hopefully keep the voting lines one hour long. in the end, the voter

suppression act didn't work. tonight, we want to honor the huge numbers that came out, and waited to cast their votes in the states we're talking about. they didn't quit. and president obama came out with the win. i'm joined tonight with ohio state senator nina turner. senator, good to have you with us. we commend you, you have been absolutely the stalwart fighter there in ohio, and a leader an inspirational in so many ways. what do you think the federal government can do to curb vote suppre suppression? >> the federal government needs to enforce the voting rights act, the civil rights act and any other federal statutes on the books. there was a commission established called the election assistance commission. that was supposed to be a

bipartisan commission with four members. it doesn't have members because the republicans have been holding that up in congress. it is very important that those on the federal level enforce the laws that we had there. and that elections assistance commission would go a long way, it would be a clearing house for some of the best practices in this nation that continue to drive the polls. that voting should be for everybody. not a select few. and we need to make sure the federal government uses the tools that are in their tool box. >> and you say in your state of ohio, the republicans unfairly target the low income with voter suppression tactics. that is well documented. but if this line act was passed, that senator barbara boxer has put in place, would this really change some of the acts? >> i commend senator boxer for standing up for all voters in this country. but ultimately, voters hold the

key. and voters have got to continue to vote for policy-makers and executives who respect the power of the vote and not try to suppress it. so even though the feds need to do their job, senator boxer, i give a big shout out to her. we need to empower voters, and now that the bright, shining lights of the election are over, the folks need to remember there are elections all over this country every year. and as you stated in your intro, there are voter id laws on the books right now. so we have to stand up to continue to be a champion for voters all over the country, including the state of ohio, and i certainly plan to lead the charge along with my other colleagues and the new general assembly. to create a level playing field for all voters. >> you know, we had talked back in october and leading up to the election that this would motivate t